2025-02-19
Last week’s strategy: The Barnum Slide
Statements that feel specific but apply to everyone create false intimacy.
Anyone try it? Did you write a sentence that felt personal but was actually universal?
Did faces react?
PRO-CLIMATE
= Transition Now
= “Renewables at any cost”
PRO-DEVELOPMENT
= Pragmatic Transition
= “Don’t wreck the economy”
| PRO-CLIMATE | PRO-DEVELOPMENT |
|---|---|
| Rapid decarbonization | Gradual transition |
| Accept higher costs now | Keep energy affordable |
| Government mandates | Market incentives |
| End fossil fuels immediately | Bridge fuels (gas) acceptable |
| Future generations | Current livelihoods |
This tension drives every energy policy debate.
Fact + Human Story + Stakes = Spectacle
Weak
“Solar energy costs have decreased”
Better
“Solar costs dropped 89% since 2010”
Spectacle
“In 2010, solar was for hippies. In 2025, it’s cheaper than coal. The oil companies knew — and lied.”
Don’t say: “Fossil fuels cause emissions.”
Say: “Every breath your child takes in Tsim Sha Tsui contains particles from coal plants 100km away. You’re paying for cheap electricity with their lungs.”
Don’t say: “We need renewable energy mandates.”
Say: “Germany did it. California did it. Hong Kong says ‘too expensive.’ Is your child’s health too expensive?”
Don’t say: “Energy transitions are complex.”
Say: “Ontario rushed renewables. Electricity bills doubled. Factories closed. Workers lost jobs. Is that the transition you want?”
Don’t say: “We need reliable baseload power.”
Say: “Germany spent €500 billion on renewables. When the wind doesn’t blow, they import nuclear power from France. Guess who pays? The same families who can’t afford heating.”
Hong Kong’s current renewable energy usage is modest, with the government targeting 7.5% to 10% of its electricity from renewables by 2035, and 15% beyond that. This landscape includes:
PRO-CLIMATE personas:
PRO-DEVELOPMENT personas:
Who are you? What’s your story? What do you fear losing?
Klaus worked in German lignite mines for 30 years. His father and grandfather did too. The Energiewende shut his mine.
PRO-CLIMATE says: “Lignite is the dirtiest fuel. Closing the mines saved lives. Klaus can retrain.”
PRO-DEVELOPMENT says: “Klaus is 55. He lost his pension. His town is dying. No one hired him. He voted for the far-right. Was the transition worth it?”
The real question: How do we transition justly — fast enough to save the planet, slow enough not to destroy communities?
OK to Say
NOT OK
People holding a warm cup of coffee rated strangers as more trustworthy than those holding iced drinks.
They had no idea the cup mattered.
This is Embodied Cognition (Williams & Bargh, 2008).
The body doesn’t just receive information — it shapes judgment.
The brain takes sensory shortcuts constantly.
The arguments that landed today weren’t abstract.
They made you feel something in your body.
Not “rising temperatures cause problems.”
But: “Your grandmother’s lungs filling with smoke from a wildfire that didn’t exist 20 years ago.”
Make your audience physically uncomfortable — on purpose.
One image. One sentence. Body-first.